Parenting can be one of the most challenging jobs regardless of circumstance, balancing our own needs alongside the needs of our children is no easy feat. Every person deserves adequate resources and support when raising a child. With this in mind, for parents navigating alongside the challenges of mental health, everyday issues can be somewhat amplified.

Join us for this Topic Tuesday where we will have a very special guest stopping by from Parentline, who will help us unpack the notion of Parenting with Mental Health challenges.

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Topic Tuesday runs from 7pm - 9pm AEST monthly. Each month we focus on a different topic, with the session facilitated by a Community Manager or Moderator. Sometimes Topic Tuesday will feature a special guest, who is an expert in the topic.

The first post of the thread (this one) will give you an idea of what the topic is and what will be covered.

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Topic Tuesday takes place right here! It's text based, so no software is needed. During the session, to keep up with the latest posts hit the 'refresh' button on your browser for the latest posts (it doesn't automatically update). Keep an eye for page numbers at the top & bottom of the page, and jump to the highest page number for the most recent post.

Throughout the session, the facilitator will put questions out for you to answer, usually asking for your own experience on the topic. To contribute to the session, just hit the 'reply' button and share your thoughts. No answers are right or wrong and everyone is welcome to get involved.

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For this topic tonight our special guest is @BelleParentline, one of the wonderful phone counsellor’s at Parentline Australia who has been supporting those in need for 3 years at Parentline and 6 years in the industry.

In terms of tonight’s structure, I’ll be posting some questions every 10 or so minutes for Belle and yourselves to contribute to. This is an awesome chance to learn from Belle and from other members. So please join in and share your own questions too!

To start us off I’ll get Belle to introduce herself and share a little about her experience...

Hi all, this is Belle here! It is so lovely to be here and a part of this brilliant forum. Thanks very much to you all and to @nashy for having me. Here is a little about me! I am currently working as a Parentline counsellor for yourtown in Queensland. Yourtown runs services such as Parentline QLD + NT on 1300 30 1300 (see www.parentline.com.au/other-support-services for the Parentline in your state), and Kids Helpline. I have had the privilege of being a yourtown counsellor for over 3 years now, and have been working with children, teens, and adults for the past 6 years. Over the years I have supported parents with many challenges, including co-parenting, separation/divorce, parenting strategies, and the challenges of balancing parenthood with mental health (needless to say, a timely topic!). At Parentline I work with parents across technology mediums such as email, web chat, phone and social media. Previously, I have worked in schools supporting young children through counselling and Play Therapy, and providing psychoeducation and support to their families. I continue to work extensively with children, teens and young adults around a myriad of issues including mental health, being a carer, family conflict, bullying and crisis support. I began my undergraduate studies in Psychology (Bachelor of Behavioural Science), moving to a Post-Graduate Diploma in Psychology, and then a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy. I am extremely passionate about supporting families as a whole, and feel very honoured to hear people’s stories. Fun Fact: When I was younger I wanted to either be a Marine Biologist or a Counsellor. While the movie, Jaws, may have helped steer me in the right direction, people are definitely a lot more awesome to work with!

Parenting is both an incredibly rewarding albeit very challenging experience for any person. Balancing the symptoms of mental health presentation can provide an extra layer of complexities throughout the journey.

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of recovering from mental illness whilst parenting?

@nashyThis is a good question! The life of a parent can be a busy and demanding one! You can be juggling so many potential stressors all at once. These could include work, family commitments, finances, and keeping up with your child’s school routine and social activities. All this on top of trying to look after your own mental health. Things can understandably become overwhelming at times, and our needs can be the first to hit the backburner. For so many parents, striking that balance between meeting your needs, as well as families, can be difficult. Try to take notice when you are starting to feel overwhelmed (don’t wait till you’re there!), and consider what you need to help self-care. This could be catching up on some shut eye for 30 minutes, taking a quiet moment to read a book, or finding an hour each week to catch up with a friend for coffee. The trick is to to start out small, and make it doable in your current routine.

Belle love the jaws story! I've used parentline a number of times (different state though) and found it so incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for all that you all do for us!

My answer to the question above is I think for me one of the biggest challenges is that my kids needs are always changing (as they grow up, as life happens etc) and it can be hard to keep up with everything they all need as well as trying to manage my own needs. Between us all it can get pretty difficult to juggle sometimes.

If you need urgent assistance, see Need help now For mental health information, guidance and referrals, see the SANE Help CentreSANE Forums is published by SANE Australia with funding from the Australian Government Department of Health SANE Australia ABN 92006533606 PO Box 226 South Melbourne 3205 Australia